Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Prime Appearance, Dulles International Airport, STERLING, VIRGINIA 20166
on — Fractures , affecting the Ankle(s).
Final narrative
An employee was descending aircraft stairs after cleaning the aircraft. The employee was carrying loose materials in her hands, missed a step, and turned her ankle, causing her to fall. She was hospitalized with a fractured right ankle.
An employee was retrieving a Christmas tree from a shelf using a ladder. He missed a step and fell to the concrete floor. He sustained injury to his head and wrist.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee fell from a step ladder while reaching for a tie-off point. He impacted the ground, and landed on his bolt bag which contained tools. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, and a lacerated spleen and kidney.
An employee slipped while descending in a stairwell, fell, and suffered multiple contusions/bruises to the head, neck, shoulders, knees, and back. She was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 488190)
Two employees fell from an access bridge while entering an aircraft to perform maintenance. They landed on the ground about 20 feet below, where one of them lost consciousness. One employee sustained a fractured knee and another employee sustained a back strain/sprain. Both employees were hospitalized.
An employee experienced sharp pain in his lower torso area while loading baggage into the front cargo pit of an aircraft. The employee sustained a hernia.
The injured employee was assisting in the disassembly phase after a radar array had been lowered and secured. The crew began removing load bearing pins from an overhead crane to free the radome. A load bearing pin was stuck. The injured employee went to remove the pin manually as a second team member applied pressure from the opposite side. The pin unexpectedly released and struck the injured employee s right thumb, resulting in partial amputation of the distal phalanx including an open distal phalanx fracture and nail bed laceration.
On September 11, 2025, an employee was lowering a railing system on an aircraft fueling cart when his gloved right ring finger was caught in the folding railing system, resulting in a fingertip amputation that required hospitalization and surgical reattachment.
An employee was working at ground level when an aviation engine cylinder weighing 30 pounds fell from a seven-foot high shelf and struck the employee on the head. The employee suffered a fractured skull and was hospitalized.
A building engineer was inspecting a generator. As he closed the generator enclosure door, his right ring finger was caught between the door and the door frame. The fingertip was amputated.
An employee was walking back to a carrier case with mail in her hand when she tripped over a tub. Her back overarched as she fell, resulting in a fractured back that required hospitalization.
An employee was driving a utility tractor rig when it struck the rear trailer of another utility tractor rig, which was traveling in the opposite direction. The glancing impact caused damage to the cab, and he sustained a laceration on right side of his face, a cervical fracture, two fractured left ribs, and a pelvic fracture. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was washing an aircraft from a scissor lift when they fell to the floor. The employee sustained a back injury and lacerations to their head and neck.